30 Days in Boston: Chad Tracy Promoted to the Red Sox!

On April 25, 2026, the world of MLB witnessed its first managerial firing of the year. Alex Cora was dismissed by the Boston Red Sox after three years of playoff appearances in seven full seasons. Cora’s first year in 2018 resulted in that year’s World Series victory as well as the team’s first 100+ win season since 1946. The team wouldn’t find this success again under Cora. In fact, a 92 win season in 2021 with an ALCS appearance is the team’s next greatest boast.

After little to moderate success over the next several years, the Red Sox started to stagger. Star players like Mookie Betts, Chris Sale, Xander Bogaerts, and Rafael Devers departing left Boston with an uphill battle. The Red Sox clearly weren’t themselves as 2026 began and an immediate change was needed. Boston axed their manager after a blowout victory of 16 runs over the Baltimore Orioles…which improved the Red Sox to 10-17. With Cora’s firing enters Chad Tracy.

From Cora…

The now former manager of the Triple-A Worcester “WooSox”, Chad Tracy was promoted to interim manager of the Red Sox. A move that makes sense on paper given his time already spent within the organization. Worcester’s time with Chad Tracy was admittedly neutral though. Since Tracy’s employment in 2022, the team finished around .500 every season. This includes a 14-11 start to 2026 before Tracy’s promotion. With yesterday marking 30 days since taking over, how have the Red Sox improved or declined? And does the franchise have some hope left as summer begins? Let’s get into it.

This year’s 27 games under Alex Cora began with despair as the team went 2-8. The Red Sox only won two games at most in a row while having separate losing streaks of two, three, four, and five. While winning their series’ against the St.Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, these would be the only two series wins to that point. They were notably swept by the New York Yankees and subpar Houston Astros as well.

Surprising struggles have come in the form of high-upside youngbucks including: Outfielder Jarren Duran, Starting Pitchers Brayan Bello, and arguably the most talented player on the team in Garrett Crochet. (It’s also worth mentioning that while Crochet is currently on the injured list, he also posts a 3-3 record with a 6.3 ERA.) The trio totals a Wins Above Replacement player (WAR) rating of -1.6.

To Tracy

April 26th marked Chad Tracy’s first game and win as interim manager with a victory over the Orioles that gave the Red Sox the series. This win in particular also earned star Closing Pitcher Aroldis Chapman his fifth save of the year and would be the second of three wins in a row for the Red Sox. (The first time this year the Sox won three in a row.) This feat would be accomplished again with a surprising sweep of the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals. The team even managed to sneak a win over the Atlanta Braves, who have been a top five team in the league all year.

Chapman’s saved eight games under Tracy’s management in 25 games, and four under Cora’s management in the first 27. Before tonight’s game on May 26th against Atlanta, Chad Tracy has led the Red Sox to a 12-13 record since taking over. Still sitting at the bottom of the A.L. East and sitting two games behind Baltimore, Boston is currently 22-30. With this record they are the fourth-worst American League team based off winning percentage and 24th overall in the league. They are however no longer the laughing stock of the league.

If there were any players to highlight for the Sox’ offense, it would likely be in the form on Outfielder Wilyer Abreu and First Baseman (1B) Willson Contreras. Playing in all but one and two games respectively, their numbers combine for 17 Home Runs (HR), a batting average of .287, and a WAR (Wins Above Replacement player) of 4.5. For reference, Toronto Blue Jays 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made the 2025 All-Star team and finished the year with a 4.6 WAR.

Injuries

We’ve already discussed Crochet being the best player on the Red Sox, yet currently missing multiple weeks with an injury. It’s worth noting that while the Sox haven’t been themselves of the last few years, their IL list is a hefty one.

Apart from Crochet, fellow starters Tanner Houck and Johan Oviedo have pitched in zero and one games respectively this year. Houck was a 2024 All-Star, while Oviedo started nine games with the Pittsburgh Pirates last year in route to a 3.57 ERA and a 2-1 record. Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval are also on the radar to start games once healthy, yet haven’t seen the mound in 2026. Even positive starters in Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray have already missed turns in the rotation.

Shortstop Trevor Story and Outfielder Roman Anthony have faced a disappointing first leg of the season after being two major highlights on the 2025 squad. While Anthony will only miss a majority of the month, Story is shelved until June if not Longer. The team also has yet to see first baseman Triston Casas and all-around infielder Romy Gonzalez this year. More key players in 2025, the Sox hope to see the duo’s return in June as the best case scenario.

Conclusion

Chad Tracy has spent 30 days in the Red Sox clubhouse. The turnabout? There is certainly a little more hope than March and April held. While the injury list has been a big obstacle, half the names we discussed were struggling when healthy anyways. (As a Garrett Crochet fantasy owner, I’m highlighting him again here.) It’s alarming however that the Red Sox are dead last in Runs Batted In across the league, and only ahead of the Brewers in HRs. More prominent players will return to the roster throughout the season, although it’s difficult to pinpoint when. Or for that matter, if they’ll be 100% and able to make an impact right away.

I’m not here to tell you Chad Tracy *will* fully turn this team around. What I can tell you is despite the improvement from Cora’s time, it’s too early to call Tracy a catalyst. We are only about to hit June with over half the season still to play. Every baseball fan rightfully points out that “we play 162 games. There’s still a long way to go.” Right now the Red Sox need to focus on digging themselves out of last place in the A.L. East.

From there, a wild-card spot seems to be the ideal possibility given how well the Yankees and red-hot Tampa Bay Rays have performed. Of course, several names will enter the rumor mill should Tracy not perform well enough to return in 2027. In this list of names includes former Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson, who we’ll discuss in a couple days.